Nike has launched their new ad titled ‘Da Da Ding’ under the ‘Just Do It’ campaign which has gone viral in the last two days. Till now, the film has garnered more than 1.2 million views on Facebook. Featuring Deepika Padukone, alongside other leading women athletes, the film urges India’s next generation to break conventions and define their own success by bringing sport into their lives. The video highlights the strength, discipline and confidence a sportsman possesses.

In a country where athletics has always been male-dominated and sports has always been about cricket, the brand takes a different stand, by cheering for girl power and letting female athletes take the center stage. This is Wieden+Kennedy’s first-ever campaign for Nike in India, since winning the business in 2015 after a competitive pitch.The film is directed by French director Francois Rousselet, and the anthem for the campaign is given by Genera8ion. The campaign also features American rapper Gizzle.

In the month of March, competition brand Reebok had launched their campaign #FittoFightwith Kangana Ranaut, where the actress had spoken about her grit and determination to fight obstacles from her way. It ended with the message ‘“How fit you are, decides how far you go. Go far. Be more. Be more human.”

Click here to view the Nike ad:

Creative take:

Commenting on the campaign, Mohamed Rizwan, W+K India Creative Director said, “Sports in India has a massive image problem, particularly for women. What we set out to do is give it a complete makeover by making it cool, accessible and fun. To that end, we commissioned some of the best image makers and musicians, and got together a crew of women that best represent sport in India right now.”

Both the agency and Nike wanted to depict the incredible power of sports, and start a larger conversation that emboldens women to get out there and play more - basically depict sports as both fun and empowering.

Expert view:

Deepak Singh- Chief Creative Officer, The Social Street said, “The best thing about the ad is the anthem and the integration of the song with the brand. The story telling has also been done in a fabulous way. Integration of the product is not in the face, like it is the case with most brands. They’ve managed to give it a perfect raw Indian feel too. I give full marks to this one, one of my favourites off late.”

Echoing similar views, Arijit Ray, co-founder & Managing Partner, PaperBoat Brandworks commented, “The execution of the film is nice with pumping imagery and a greater youth connect. The music is really addictive- the raw Indian energy is fused into the Western beats. However, there is nothing new in the ad that actually spires up the attention. No doubt, it is well executed as a long-format film. But we have seen the same imagery for other sports brands as well.”

Social media buzz:

This video is getting widely shared and there is a lot of positive buzz around it. Deepika Padukone on Monday shared the video from her Facebook timeline and told her fans that two years ago when she was battling with depression, it was sports that helped her to fight it and survive.

Previous campaigns:

Nike has always celebrated the spirit of young athletes and has mostly concentrated on cricket in its previous campaigns. The tone has been of high-energy and quite pumping in nature as well.